Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-28
THREE CLEVER ESCAPES.
Good stories OF How Bolts. Bars
and RayOmets Were Eluded.

Among the prisoners at the OF
Capitol in Washington during til
winter of a1S63-64 was one Geore
Shearer, of Shepherdstovn. "
Va, tall, 1.-THE, muscular fellow
Some prisoner had cut away one {
the iron bars, so that it could b
pushed aside sufficiently to, admit tn
body of man. The cut had beef
kept filed up with lime aud dirt SO a
not to be noticed. Many had contem
plated making their escape there, bu
the undertaking was so hazardous ant
the opportunities so few owing to thu
number of passers-by, j addition t!
the sentinels, that no attempt hat
ever been made. bu| Snearer de
termined to try it.
He chose Decembsr night, anc
lust after the guards lad met anc
passed under his widow Shearel
pressed himself througl the bars and
slid noiselessly down on blanket
used as a rope, and Fltn a catiike
spring that he had pcticed during
recreation hours for teeks, he was
beyond the curbing, hen, walking
leisurely across the seet, taking a
diagonal direction, SO amot to appear
to come directly from he prison, he
disappeared in the fkness. The
blanket was drawn bacland the bar
replaced. The sentine was under
the window scarce two inutes from
the time he had left land all ap'
peared we'll. None OF e comrades
that Shearer left behindim dared to
undertake what he had successfully
nerformed. SO the blant was I'M
strapped and the cut inhe window
filled up.
A SIGNIFICANT Ne,
Tba prisoners we're aked, to re.
ceiye short notes of a penal nature
from their relatives, thefirst being
road by the officer in che, A few
davs after Shearer's escaEhe Writer'S
chum received note fr his sister,
saving: awe were all dehted at the
arrival of Cousin Sally oiNednesday
from New York. Shell remain
with us few days" rely there
was nothing contrabandbout that,
hut il told the prisonersat Shearer
was safe. Again another Cousin
SALLY left us last SaturdAight, and
we hear she arrived sly home"
and it was known that carer had
landed in Dixie. 800.
Some time later we .weransferred
to Point Lookout prisonlaryland.
Among our number was aug man
named Hunter of Washirn. Dur
ing his Imprisonment he been fur
nished with a complete w'obe, far
more complete than any Moderate
soldier dared to dream Of the day
of departure he was dresst a nobby
business suit, looking as tie sol
dier of any kind as coule. The
prisoners were gathered ther in
the quadrangle of the prlstand as
each name was called the passed
through the Office out totlvement
and formed in column een the
lines of guards. Each prer car
ried his effects-if he wartunate
anough to posses any,
When Hunters nal was
eaiIed he came out envelo i'm his
blanket. his hat knocked 7, and
carving his valise. Thoseo had
seen how jauntily he looIn the
ward scarcely recognized figure
that shutiled with it's shang gait
ont TO the pavement, nor diy un-
derstand why he had made a guy
of himself. The prisoners and
laughed gaily among thems' NO
one noticed Hunter lay asldblan-
ket and "spruce" himself usking
comrade to look after htnket
and valise. and to make no * on
anything he might see, Hunoved
70 the cnrbstone side of thamn.
A COOL PRocEEDIN
Unnoticed by the guards bped
bavond the curbing and facelnd,
looking nonchalantly at theners
while leisurely lighting a clone
of the guards noticed the dis IN
dividual and brought his mubwn
to a "charge bayonets, reng
sIts apains, orders, sir, for se to
come on this side Of the streeun-
ter coolly said, while putting ar; /;
ooh I'd like to get a good at
these 49, rebels The re-
neated: "Its against oreir,
and you will have to Che
street = "All right" says Hpot
wishing to prolong the conpn,
and he sauntered across thet,
tnrnine occasionally to loolhe
nr;soners. where, leaning 9 a
tree-box, he watched the 1sD
with as much curiosity as ne e,
there. When the column mff
the cheer that went up from n
faderates was thought by the s.
nn to he the escape of pent-ugs
of nrisoners at being let out ne
omen air. when, in reality, 1t ne
farewell outburst OF adniror
their comrade left standine,
who. by his strategy and neld
won for himself freer air thy
Hunter spent several days !
;,aton then started for Dixieys
captured at Bowling ureen'.
as an eScapeu Piiso, Z
who couldn't give a clear asf
himself. His captors haitee
night on the way to Washing
inc refuge in an old abandonef
with one of those large stone n, 9
80 common in Virginia. Inc : {
being all boarded up anu H 9p
guards lying against tne ~
thought that sufficient to nov
little blockade runner, thel1
llaxed their vigilance so mp
sleep. A little fire, smoke i
were slight impediments, % {, a I
the prisoner. He crawled up
ney, dropped down on the ,,al oat
prisons knew him no moarePTI y ri
ddelphia Times. a1'9e "a
~,ses (B1,bf thu ~